<p>As a former RA who had to deal with a student with significant mental problems that resulted in an immediate ER trip and hospitalization for the student, I can comment on what the RA should be doing. I found out about the situation because students told me that somethings was wrong. When I talked to the student, I strongly agreed. I knew instantly that I was in way over my head, so I left the student with another RA and went immediately to my boss, who called the campus police, who have a psychologist on call. That psychologist spoke to me, (the student wasn’t talking at that point, and certainly wouldn’t talk to her), and agreed that she needed to go to the hospital. The point of all this is that the training I received certainly meant that I wouldn’t deal with this on my own. However, I knew of the resources that would immediately be able to help the student, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night. We were taught the signs of significant mental difficulties, and what to do if we encountered them. In our handbook on emergencies, there is a large section for psychological issues.</p>
<p>However, if the girl’s roommate’s parents had called anyone involved, we couldn’t tell them anything. We couldn’t contact her parents. It was one of the most painful things about the experience. I certainly needed my parents after dealing with it, but she didn’t want her’s. </p>
<p>On another note, my school enacted a policy this year that allows it to kick students out of university housing if they demonstrate obviously that they have a significant mental issue that they are not getting treatment for. This certainly helps with this situation.</p>